Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are investigating a June 15 furnace fire inside a glovebox at the laboratory’s plutonium facility after operators observed smoke and flames during recovery and purification operations. The incident prompted an emergency response but caused no injuries, radiological release or damage beyond the affected equipment, according to […]

The Department of Energy briefed residents in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state last month on its plans to expand upon its Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) technology at the Hanford Site. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management provided a public briefing June 17 at the Richland, Wash., public library on plans to “bring existing modular cesium […]

Holtec International has completed major projects at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan and has transitioned to the remaining routine maintenance and testing readiness work required before restarting operations. According to Holtec’s July 2 press release, major projects completed during this phase include placement of the plant’s turbine generator “on turning gear” and installation […]

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s latest rulemaking on radiation safety protection has weakened the government’s “long-standing radiation protection standards for workers, the public and the environment.”  On July 1, NRC released the proposed new rulemaking that will do away with the “as low as reasonably achievable” – or ALARA […]

Parties interested in learning more about the draft request for proposals (RFP) for the 222-S Laboratory management contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., should sign up by Tuesday July 7 for a site tour and information sessions later this month. The department will hold a Hanford Site tour on Tuesday […]

SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]

Exchange Monitor Publications parent company Access Intelligence will be closed on Friday July 3 in observance of the Independence Day holiday, which falls on Saturday, July 4. As a result our weekly publications will post before close of business on Thursday July 3 and there will be no Weapons Complex Morning Briefing posted that day. […]

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory has solidified about 400,000 gallons of radioactive sodium-bearing waste, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. During the current processing run, crews have used the IWTU to treat 130,000 gallons of the liquid waste held at Idaho National Laboratory, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) […]

Arizona Public Service and two other Arizona-based utilities have begun their preliminary siting study that would explore opportunities for additional nuclear power in Arizona. The study will use a phased screening methodology to narrow down locations in the state to a short list of possible sites and soon to the selection of a preferred site, […]

Crews at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York have torn down a ventilation system building and will prepare to dismantle the Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said last week. The recently-demolished Replacement Ventilation Unit was only built in the mid-2010s after crews deactivated the shuttered […]

The chairman’s mark of the House Appropriations Committee’s (HAC) fiscal 2027 defense appropriations bill funds the administration’s $1 billion request for the BBG(X) Trump-class battleship, but adds restrictions. The proposed restrictions would require a certification from the Navy Secretary on combat system maturity as well as reports seeking key details about ship development. During the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has launched a restricted data environment with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in what the agency says is the first “cloud” platform authorized across the enterprise to process classified nuclear weapons information. The cloud environment – a virtual space where resources are hosted by a third party and access over […]

Urenco USA started operations of its fifth cascade of new uranium enrichment capacity at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M., the company said Monday. The fifth cascade officially began to operate on June 22, which was ahead of schedule, Urenco USA said in a Monday press release. The company has already installed new cascades […]

Exchange Monitor Publications parent company Access Intelligence will be closed on Friday July 3 in observance of the Independence Day holiday, which falls on Saturday, July 4. As a result our weekly publications will post before close of business on Thursday July 3 and there will be no Weapons Complex Morning Briefing posted that day. […]

The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill As of Monday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration finished a key project to shrink the area inside the fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. NNSA said Friday that the West End Protected Area Reduction (WEPAR) Project is expected to save $300 to $500 million through a reduction […]

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that would regulate data centers, and prohibit Duke Energy from retiring coal- or gas-fired power plants until it obtains a permit to build a nuclear plant. The legislation, Senate Bill 730, now named the Ratepayer Protection Act, was amended and passed in the House in a […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology Monday officially launched its 120-day public comment period on Revision 9A to the Department of Energy’s sitewide permit for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. In an online notice, the state regulator said the sitewide permit is one of its key tools for monitoring the “treatment, storage, and disposal […]

The Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority have agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on fusion technology. The MOU builds on the King Charles III address to the joint meeting of Congress in Washington, D.C. in April, according to the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority’s […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  JULY  02: Webinar: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) holds session starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss it Integrated Resources Plan options. 15: Meeting: House Cleanup Caucus event begins at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Rooms 2043 and 2044 of the Rayburn […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued proposed rules late last week that would make several changes designed to ease management and disposal of greater-than-class-c (GTCC) radioactive waste.  NRC said in a June 25 press release the proposed rule “would modernize the NRC’s framework for land disposal of low-level radioactive waste by allowing disposal facilities to use […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is seeking public input on what it calls its “preliminary final” 2026 Integrated Resource Plan and its associated environmental impact statement (EIS). TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan is a long-term planning document that analyzes its seven-state region’s growing energy needs over the next 20-plus years. The strategy provides insight on how […]

The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel-led joint venture that runs the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said Friday that Todd Ailes will become its new president and CEO effective July 1. Ailes will succeed Rich Tighe who is leaving CNS after about four years to become project […]

The Department of Energy is targeting late July for resumption of transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. In a Wednesday email to Exchange Monitor, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said it intends to start disposing of waste again by the end of July. Although the schedule could […]